Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I wish I could post some photos but the photo card reader at the internet cafe I am using won't read my card unfortunately.

It has been a busy week but the exhibition Sense of Place is installed and looks terrific. The Australian ambassador to Egypt and Syria opened the exhibition.There was quite a lot of space as the gallery is twice the size compared to last time I saw it, so we ended up hanging quite a lot of my quilts which I had with me for the retrospective at Sophie Gelfi's Gallery in la Bourboule in France. ( and i still have two quilts to finish with hand stitching). I was delighted to find that they had used one of my quilts for the invite as well as the cover of the catalogue ( they did not know it was mine as the person to whom I had sent the cd and the document containing artists names had not married the two things together)

Since then I have spent a lot of time with Ynez wandering around the souq and old city trying not to spend money and just enjoying the ambience of the old city. We met with a German textile artist Monica Spahl ( and doctor) in one of the old textile shops in the souq- she has a daughter the same age as Ynez- so Ynez has gone to her school for the day. It was such coincidence meeting another textile practitioner ( well maybe it wasn't as it was an antique textile shop) . Anyway Monica came to the opening and brought another textile artist Mirja Wark whose work I hope to see in the coming weeks ( she is a weaver) and knows many of the crafts people still practising in the souq. So I hope to see some of their favourite textile haunts around the city in the coming weeks.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

In my dreams I would have completed 10 quilts by now, done the taxes made a new small bag to put my docs and wallet in and would be packed or half way so and dyed fabric for a shop I have to deliver to on Monday on the way to the airport.

The reality is that I will be lucky to get the six quilts done ( two need more hand stitching - but that's ok- gives me something to do at night in the hotel in Syria). The photo is of Gilgamesh's forest rug- I abandoned the piece with the foiled cedars- i wasn't sure about them, nor am I sure about this stitching, but I will keep going. I have to dye the fabric tomorrow- it is too hot today- i should have done it early this morning, but I didn't think it was going to be this hot......

Nothing is packed, though the list is done- and as long as I have a list things will happen.I did try and make chilli plum sauce but put too much vinegar in I think- I suppose I could add more plums to it to even it out- maybe tomorrow.

There is a lot of sewing planned for tomorrow- getting on the plane and not having to do anything will seem like a holiday.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I have been making more pomegranate cards to sell. They are priced at $30US inclusive of postage and measure 5" x 7" (12 x 18 cm) The pomegranates have been printed using the African Painting technique. The cards are numbered 1-15 from top left to bottom right. I can take payment via Paypal. Numbers 1,8,9 and 11 are sold! And Number 4 is sold!

I have to baste another quilt- I found two tifaifai tops which I had almost forgotten existed ( this is rather a bonus as they only have to be quilted) I tossed them aside after I returned from England in 2005 and then they got tucked on the bottom of a shelf. I found them the other day- so another two quilts to add to the number I need for my exhibition in France!

Monday, February 12, 2007

I ended up putting in deep marooon free satin stitched lines for accent-it is another Gilgamesh Rug.It is also a reference to remnants from the past being nothing more than glimpses- so the first layer has been foiled with some random cuneiform marks and then overlaid with scrim and then with dots added as a sort of counting system- the idea is that this would read not only on a visual level but also on a touch level- and the story of Gilgamesh comes to us incomplete with sections missing from the broken tablets on which they found the story - we have to surmise what the missing sections are. The quilt measures 60 cm by 145 cm long and it is for sale ( $1,000 US).

Todays task is to make more pomegranate cards to take overseas with me and to start another long piece- not quite decided what - there are a few options but none is crying out loudly.

Anonymous asked how to contact me- I had not realised when I went to the new blogger my profile settings did not follow- as I used to have an email link in my profile. That is fixed now so you should be able to contact me through clicking on profile.

Friday, February 09, 2007

The launch of Sense of Place went really well. At the last moment the Syrian Ambassador could not come as he was delayed in Damascus, a pity, but we had a good night anyway. It would have been nice to have had a few more people, but those that came had an enjoyable time, and Bev Brock was a wonderful MC and really livened up the evening. We had a silent auction and an Art to Wear auction, and the raffle wrap- all went for around the price we had hoped, so I know at least I have the cost of accommodation in Syria covered.

The quilt pictured here has been slowly growing- it still needs something else, but I haven't decided what yet- I think it might be squiggle shapes in the areas where I have used the scrim, perhaps in black thread.

Thank you for all the nice comments about the scarf- I have been thinking of making these to sell but as always pricing is an issue.I am not sure what to charge as they are quite time consuming by the time you have painted the silk, printed it and then cut out the shapes and sewn it.

And this will be your last chance to Purchase Seventy Two Ways not to Stipple or Meander- Ideas for Free machine Quilting for the next couple of months, as I cannot send it out whilst I am away. The cost for the book is $25US ( i have had to increase the US rate by $2 due to exchange rate and the fact that the post office has scrapped it's economy air option), $ 25AUS and 12 pound sterling or 18 euros, all inclusive of postage ( the cd is cheaper) if interested please contact me, and I can be paid on Paypal.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

The flowering gum is flowering in my garden- isn't it beautiful? I love the way on the top left, the stamens are popping out oftheir little cocoons and wearing a little hat!

The other photo is a not very good photo of a scarf I have made as one of the gifts to give to our speakers and special guests tomorrow night for the Sense of Place launch. I haven't made lace for a while so it was good to get back to one, pity I won't get back to any more until well into May. The motif is inspired by drochel and I really must do some more with this motif but as always it's time time time, mind you I seem to waste an awful amount of time as well. These last few months it has been almost impossible to work let alone work consistently, and I am starting to fret about my studio/shed ever being in a fir state, let alone me working in it.

I did manage to change a Qantas booking today without too much penalty - whatever you want to do with them always costs and one of the really stupid things about Qantas and Frequent flyers ( not only do you have to pay for their card ) you can only use your frequent flyer points for a return ticket or for a one way from Australia - you can't use it for a one way from Europe as i found out last year.Anyway it is sorted to my great relief. So I have a one way to Europe in September to teach at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork again- yay! I will work out how to get back here later on.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Things are coming together for the Sense of Place Fundraising Dinner. There are still some places available but it looks as if it's going to be a good function with lots of fun and we now have a MC for the dinner,who is known to many people, Bev Brock. Bev is the author of "Peter Brock- Living with a Legend" but Bev's also known for her wholistic and organic approach to life.

There will also be an auction of an art to wear jacket by Robina Summers which Gail Blackwood will auction . Gail has been kindly provided by Morrison Kleeman Real Estate There is also a silent auction of a quilt by Olga Walters .There will also be a drawing of the raffle for a wrap I have made- see the picture!

Part of the reason doing this fundraising is the fact that whilst I have received sponsorship by way of a scholarship grant from Ozquilt Network Inc, a grant from the Nillumbik Tourism Associationand in kind sponsorship from Samson Hill WineryandUpfront Pictures- the travelling of an exhibition takes quite a lot of money. Even though I organise things on a shoe string there are all sorts of incidental expenses to be met- an airfare is not simply the price you see quoted but comes with taxes and fuel surcharges- and for the Dubai to Damascus leg alone the tax and fuel surcharge was more than $550 ( actually it was more than the actual fare), there are visas ( which the Syrian Ambassador decided to grant gratis because i will be on hand in Damascus- so that was very kind)- there is insurance, then there is hotel accommodation in Damascus- a very modest hotel but even so 26 nights adds up, and as it is a requirement I be on hand and demonstrate ( it is part of the goodwill which I think is incredibly important)- then there is meals because much as i would like to lose a lot of weight, I can't not eat- and food in Syria is taken very seriously and is delicious and reasonable, but it does add up- there is getting from and to the airport, there is an overnight stay in Dubai which couldn't be ticketed any other way ( fortunately an old school friend of Collin's has come to the rescue there). Then there is the banner, the flyers and the posters, all of which need to be designed and printed, the phone calls to organise this , the meetings, the petrol of getting to and from Melbourne ( which is a 2-3 hour drive for me)

Anyway as you can see things start to tally up not only money wise, but also in counting on the goodwill of many people who do not directly benefit from the exhibition. It is my constant complaint that there is little avenue for an independent curator to get governmental funding ( from Arts Council etc as they will fund individual art work/artists or an incorporated asscoiations exhibition but not an independent curator) In a way it really irritates me as the exhibitions I have curated showcase both Australia and its artists in the best possible way .

So i have to take the avenue of private fund raising so I hope those of you who can attend will be supportive in this regard. There will be surprises during the evening, and it will all in the spirit of fun with a two course dinner giving hints of middle eastern food and a door prize. The fundraising dinner wil be $45 a head which i think is very reasonable.

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ABOUT ME

I am a Textile Artist and itinerant at the moment. My base at present is in Gellibrand though I teach around the world. I love to dye and print fabrics and assemble them into quilts with lots of stitching both by hand and machine. I also create my own linocuts for printing on fabric.